Angelino Alfano told the Corriere della Sera newspaper in an interview published Tuesday that the ban on the full-body swimsuit known as a burkini, introduced by several French towns this summer, has not “worked for the best.”

“The interior ministry’s responsibility is to guarantee security and to decide the severity of responses which however must never become provocations that could potentially attract attacks,” Alfano said.

The minister said he would focus instead on regulating mosques, including by ensuring all imams were trained in Italy.

“Enough already with these homemade mosques springing up in garages,” he said.

In France, the seaside resorts of Leucate, Oye-Plage and Le Touquet, were expected to join cities such as Cannes in banning the burkini over concerns about religious extremism, AFP reported Tuesday.

“The burkini is not a new range of swimwear, a fashion,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls told La Provence newspaper in an interview published Wednesday. “It is the expression of a political project, a counter-society, based notably on the enslavement of women.”

Related stories on these topics:

CSK

Same old, same old; they push and politicians lose their nerve and cave in. That’s the sort of weak mindset that extremists aim to provoke, and so far western Europe has been a pushover for them. One country makes a statement which is immediately counteracted by another. What do these politicians do all day at their endless meetings if they can’t even co-ordinate the simplest things?!
Meanwhile, Italy proposes to regulate mosques and train imams in Italy. Good luck with that! Islam stipulates that a mosque can be created in any building or even a room if necessity requires it; how do you think these people survived under authoritarian dictatorships. And as for the use of the internet to communicate, well…
More off-the-wall knee-jerk responses that haven’t been thought through, let alone discussed amongst the various countries.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 1:40 PM CET

Hi Jack

Idiotic comment, it shows that fear has worked on the weak minded individual.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 1:46 PM CET

Tom Cullem

Yes, let’s sell out more of 21st century values, like refusing to condone ancient symbols of female-as-wicked-Eve-who-must-be-controlled, because we’re scared of them. This is what multiculturalism gets you: no cultural values at all – except the ones that those with stronger beliefs than you hold and are intent on forcing YOU to adapt to after YOU let them IN.

Lemmings off a cliff. Then you wonder why the far right has any chances.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 3:03 PM CET

Tom Cullem

@Hi Jack – idiotic response. I suggest you pick up some of Walter Laqueur’s work on Europe’s direction. Say, did you know “The Economist” published an article recently supporting a “modified” form of FGM? Did you know that UK alone is seeing about 6,000 women a year in its hospitals affected by FGM, done not only out of the country, but inside the country clandestinely, but not one parent or family has ever been arrested? Why do you think France banned the burka?

Neighbourhoods filled with women in veils sends a message to other little girls that this is a perfectly acceptable view of women. Because, Heaven forbid we should engage in a bit of cultural imperialism, eh?

It is the weak-minded who are selling out European culture and values.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 3:07 PM CET

Kubanek

If a woman, doesn’t want to live, according with the law, should be jailed or, in case of an immigrant, deported.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 3:27 PM CET

Hi Jack

@Tom Cullen,

Thanks, I will check out that work, not sure why all this nonsense is being accepted UK and Europe wide.

Posted on 8/17/16 | 5:09 PM CET

jameson.jay

interesting…and this type of clothing that shows no skin is how bad? And the mosques will be able to control their women into compliance instead of the French police arresting and dealing with the whole expense of a rouge going woman?

Posted on 8/17/16 | 7:34 PM CET

Karl Martell

.

What an APPEASER. Quisling! Chamberlain!

I hear they’re looking for a new captain for the Costa Concordia..

.

Posted on 8/18/16 | 2:10 PM CET

Karl Martell

.

These moslem “migrants” suffer many self-inflicted illnesses due to poor hygiene, centuries of inbreeding, head butting on the floor during prayer and covering women in cloths that prevent sun from reaching their skin, which results in Vitamin D deficiencies.